How Many ISO Pallets Fit in a 53ft Trailer?
A 53ft trailer takes 28 ISO pallets on the floor in a single layer, 14 down the length by 2 across. The count uses the 16002 x 2591 mm usable interior with no overhang and no stacking.
By pallet type
Other pallets in a 53ft trailer
ISO 1100 x 1100 pallets in other containers
The short answer
28 ISO pallets on the floor of a 53ft trailer, 14 down by 2 across, single tier, no overhang. Floor area used: 81.7%.
The 53ft trailer takes 14 rows of 2 ISO pallets, 28 in total, with 602 mm of unused length and 391 mm of unused width. Square pallets do not pinwheel, so there is no turned layout that beats this.
Internal dimensions used
- 53 ft Dry Van Trailer: 16002 x 2591 x 2794 mm usable interior (630 x 102 x 110 in), 20,000 kg payload.
- ISO pallet (Asian 1100 x 1100 mm): 1100 x 1100 mm footprint (43.3 x 43.3 in), 140 mm deck, 1,000 kg dynamic rating.
Usable figures sit a little under nominal to allow for corrugation, posts and the door frame; the count is a plain grid with no overhang.
Long side or short side down the trailer
A 1100 x 1100 mm pallet has one footprint, so there is no long side to choose. Down the 16002 mm length you fit 14 pallets (602 mm left over at the doors) and across the 2591 mm width 2 (391 mm left over). That is 14 x 2 = 28 on the floor, using 81.7% of the floor area. Turning a square pallet changes nothing: the leftover length is either enough for another full row or it is wasted.
What changes with double stacking
Two tiers need every loaded pallet, deck included, at or under 1397 mm in the 2794 mm interior: goods no higher than 1257 mm on a 140 mm deck. The 1500 mm load preset here (1640 mm with the deck) is one tier only. Under 1257 mm the floor count doubles to 56, if the bottom tier can carry the top.
Weight usually bites first. At the full 1,000 kg pallet rating the 20,000 kg payload caps the load at 20 pallets, before the floor is even full. Real loads run lighter, but add the total up before planning a second tier.
The same ISO pallet in the other three
| Container | Interior L x W (mm) | Longways | Turned | Best floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft Container | 5898 x 2352 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 40ft Container | 12032 x 2352 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 40ft High Cube | 12032 x 2352 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 53ft Trailer (this page) | 16002 x 2591 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
Check it with the calculators
The calculator above is preset to this pallet and trailer; change the load height or add a pallet weight to see tiers and payload. For other pallet sizes in the same trailer, use 53ft trailer load calculator or the truck load calculator; for any pairing, the pallets per container calculator. To plan the pallet itself, see the ISO pallet calculator.